Walking with Jesus

 (Pine cones were handed out for everyone to have one)

Everyone have a pine cone in their hand? Take a good look at it and see the patterns, the symmetry, and the beauty of this piece of nature...   Now, close you eyes and move it around in your hands, what do you feel, hardness, softness, prickliness, stickiness?... Within each one carries the seeds of life for another tree, another forest, another habitat for animals, birds, bugs, clean water, and fresh air. They, or at least some of them, make good fire starters. 

We have lost our way, most humans. I remember in the 1980's when lots of farms were being foreclosed because of high interest rates and drought, the nightly news asked someone in Chicago if she worried about the loss of farms and she replied, "Why should I care about that, I buy my milk from the grocery store." Read the comment section of any national park and there are complaints about the insects, the smells, the wolves howling at night, going up and down hills, and a whole host of things that we literally have no control over, but are inconvenient to humans. We, as a society and culture and religion, have lost our connection to this amazing planet and the value of all life, not just human life and the pursuit of wealth. And this is why we are killing thousands of species and disrupting nature itself with human-made climate change. 

7 miles, walking 7 miles to Emmaus would take them over two hours, maybe longer because there are lots of hills and mountains surrounding Jerusalem. The two disciples were with Jesus through Holy Week and witnessed many of the things we now read about, the triumphal entry, the clearing of the Temple, the lively discussions with the Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, and lawyers, the Last Supper and possibly arrest. They knew about the trial and crucifixion. They heard about the resurrection from the women but couldn't overcome their unbelief. The two disciples were now downcast and returning back to their previous lives, believing that nothing had changed. This stranger joins them, whom they were kept from recognizing, and asks them what is wrong? They are hard pressed to imagine that anyone does not know all that has happened and is out of the loop about all these monumental events. And Jesus starts explaining to them all that has happened in a different light and a different way. 

Jesus, once taught that we should consider the lilies of the field, and how even King Solomon with all his wealth and fancy clothes would never be dressed so elegantly. I can imagine that as those three walked and Jesus shared, he also had them look around at nature. There were no cars rushing by them, no leaf blowers in people's yards, and no planes overhead. We have limited our knowledge of God and the world and salvation to the scripture and therefore have lost our connection with the world around us. Jesus, who went out to the mountain, the desert, stayed out all night praying and gazing at the stars, not worrying about the city lights obscuring his view, very much valued nature and all of God's creation. 

And then Jesus was finally revealed to them, it wasn't because they saw him in the scriptures, it was in the breaking of the bread. Eat and drink as often as you do this, in remembrance of me. We have not totally lost our way in that we use water for baptism, which is life, and eat and drink as a way to remember the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I know in many ways I am preaching to the choir, as many, if not all, have moved here or stayed here because of the profound beauty and wonderment we have for Cook County, the Boundary Waters, Lake Superior, and all of nature, birds, and animals of this place. The Boundary Waters is the most visited Park in all of America, so humanity has not totally lost its way. There is cause for hope, thankfulness, and maybe even celebration. 

There is a small, but growing movement, to give animals, trees, and eco-systems legal rights so humans can't just do what they want but have to be respectful and responsible. This is not a bad thing, in that they have as much right to be here as we do. Last night Kileen, her mom, and I went to eat and then drove around, in just about every neighborhood, there were deer. There are deer in our yard every day. Thank God we are finding a way to live together, but we still have much to learn. 

We opened with the first creation story from Genesis, where God speaks the world into creation. Every act of creation and the whole of creation itself it proclaimed very good and is blessed, even black flies and mosquitoes. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is proclaimed to be a part of our creation. He is called the Logos, which we have interpreted to be the WORD found in scripture, but, maybe also mean the Conversation, where God speaks and creation answers. "Not one thing was made that wasn't made through him..." John's Gospel says. So we can have a conversation with God, with Jesus, if we just find a way to have a conversation with nature. For all life, even the waves, and rocks, hills, and mountains proclaim the glory of God. What can these cones, these seeds tell us? Maybe the way to salvation of the world. Amen?  Amen.